Ensyn and UOP to develop green gas

Des Plaines, IL – Ottawa-based Ensyn and Honeywell’s UOP company have formed a joint venture to combine Ensyn’s thermal combustion and UOP’s refining technologies.  The plan is to offer the technology and equipment to convert waste biomass such as residuals from the agricultural and forestry sector and woody construction and demolition materials into pyrolysis oil. 

Pyrolysis oil can be combusted in industrial burners and furnaces for power and heating or further refined into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.  However, the oil is corrosive and unstable, making it difficult to store and transport.  UOP has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop economically viable technology to modify the composition of biomass pyrolysis oil to solve these issues.

“The development of second-generation biofeedstock conversion technology is critical for biofuels to support our growing energy needs,” said Jennifer Holmgren, general manager for UOP’s Renewable Energy and Chemicals business.  “Finding a cost-effective solution will ensure that pyrolysis oil is a viable renewable source for power and transportation fuels.”

“We believe this alliance will generate multiple commercial breakthroughs in the biomass-to-energy world,” says Dr. Robert Graham, chairman and CEO of Ensyn.  The joint venture aims to develop and commercialize technology to convert biomass to drop-in transportation fuels by the end of 2010.